A Day in the Life, Part One
by Embrace the Night
Summary: From the points of view of several Slayers through the ages, this Handbook is a very personal must-have for all Slayers.
1. 345 Alone: A Gift of Death

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The First: Primitive

Chapter One

Alone: A Gift of Death

Alone. Forever alone. No friends. No family. Only the kill. Only you. Only the Slayer.

They abandon you. Gone, all gone. Hate. They hate you. You kill. To save them. But they're gone. They don't know.

All you have now is the kill. Vampires. Been there so long. But we kill. Kill them to save your people.

But you are always alone. Never to have friends after the Calling. Family is dead. Vampires kill your family first. Isolate you.

But we survive. Have no choice. Have to save people. Have to stop vampires. Have to kill. Without the kill you have nothing.

You have death. Your gift. Death is your gift. Give your gift to vampires. To demons. Give death to them and bring life to your people.

Even in living the Slayer is dying. She wants it. Wants it all to end. Wants to be defeated.

She has the gift of death to give away but she wants it given to herself. All the time she wants it. Needs it.

So she needs the kill. Eventually she will hesitate in the struggle too long. Eventually she will choose the wrong fight. Eventually her prey will overpower her and she will lose her gift of death.

Until then she is all alone, giving away her gift of death.


	2. 930 An Army of One

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930

Chapter Two

An Army of One

One. One against millions. You are the one. You are alone in the fight against the vampires and the demons.

You exist in the back of everyone's mind. You are the voice telling them to stay inside and lock their windows at night. You are their protector but they do not know.

You are not real to them. What you fight for is not real to them. The vampires are not real to them. All of it is nothing but an old wives' tale, and a bad one at that.

So why are you there?

To save them. That's all there is to it. You fight for the sole purpose of allowing them to live.

When you die another will be Called. So why fight? Why not just stop fighting and allow them to kill you?

Because they killed your family. They killed some of your friends and turned the rest against you. They made the town stop seeing you, made your people ignore you as they do the vampires.

So take a breath, Slayer. Take a deep breath and fight your battles. I pray you win them all.

For if not, your army of one is defeated.


	3. 1124 The Power

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1124

Chapter Two

The Power

There are two things in life. Very real things. Everything else isn't real. It doesn't exist. Those two things? Power and weakness.

You are the Slayer. The only one. Only you fight the vampires. You are the only link between your people and supernatural death. Alone, you fight your battles. Alone, you win your battles.

So do you have power, or do you have weakness?

The vampires have power. As do the demons. And the evils. You have yourself. You have your weapons. Is that your power?

Maybe. Your weapons put you at a weakness. Fight with all of you. Take away your weapons, take away your resources, and you have nothing. Right? Wrong. You have yourself.

Being the Slayer comes with its disadvantages. No friends, constant battles, and an inner death. Can you handle it?

Are you ready to accept your destiny, Slayer? Are you ready to step forth from the crowds and grasp your power? Are you ready to fight for life? Are you ready to take on the army of the dead, woven tight with the strength and death?

Will you fight?

Do you have the power?


	4. 1238 Fight

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1238

Chapter Four

Fight

They Called you. They gave you a Watcher. He took you out during the darkest hour of the night. Telling you to be quiet so you wouldn't wake the town, he led you to the churchyard.

That's where they bury the dead.

Unbelievably, someone — someone you _knew _— came up, out of the ground. How he did it, you couldn't explain. He was dead. He died three days ago. You attended his burial, comforted his family.

Then your Watcher — you were beginning to fancy him mad — told you that you would be seeing a lot more of the dead rise again. But no, it was not a miracle, and they were not still who they used to be. They had been infested with a demonic soul.

Your Watcher reached into his bag, grabbed something and shoved it into the dead man's chest.

Again, you couldn't explain it. The man you knew suddenly burst into dust.

The man who called himself your Watcher told you it was up to you to keep the spread of these people who raised from the dead — did he say _vampires?_ — down.

He told you it was your job to help people, to save their lives. You would probably receive no credit, no matter how many lives you save. But you still had to do it. You had no choice.

Before he takes you home, he told you one final piece of information: you will probably not live past eighteen.

And right now you are sixteen.

And alone. You are alone in the fight. Completely alone. If you told anyone about it, they would fancy you mad. So you will march on, an unknown hero.

Every day you wake up to could be your last. Every day could be your defeat. But still you stand brave.

Why?

Because if you don't, this job will be forced onto some other girl. She will have to fight them, will have to live with the fact that she, too, will die before she turns eighteen.

So fight on, Slayer. Fight.


End file.
